Pantsboard Responses - December 2002
December 2002's Burning Question:
What are your thoughts on Kameo: Elements of Power, judging by the promo movie and anything else you know about it?
  My thoughts on Kameo? Hmmm... well for starters I already think I'll be picking this one up on release. Looks like it has a good theme, some aspects of it and the trailer seem a little The Dark Crystal-ish, with a tinge of Labyrinth. Which I quite like, as I like that whole faerie/fairy/goblin atmosphere and whatnot.
     The Maori like tigers doing the haka, is quite cool as well.
     I'm hoping for a little bit of a multiplayer add-on of sorts if it's possible, as we had none of that in Star Fox Adventures which was a little saddening.
     Regards,
     Poona
  I think Kameo looks very fun. I have high hopes for it and to ensure that I will not be let down, I'm going to force the team members working on Kameo to include these things:
     -A lot of secrets and hard-to-get monsters. This shall increase replay value the Final Fantasy way;
     -Different combat styles for monsters used by Kameo;
     -Huge, puzzle-filled areas;
     -Some innovation. Come on guys, Star Fox Adventures sure is good, but it's not innovative. The quiz game at the end of Banjo-Kazooie, THAT was a cool new idea;
     -A relatively lengthy game;
     -A "chapter" selection feature. Conker's Bad Fur Day has that, Eternal Darkness has it too, and probably some other games do too. It's a feature that should never not be included in a game.
     Well, now that you have my instructions in regard to the development of the game, I suppose it will be very fun to play.
     See you,
     Bob
  Well, it's not currently on my "MUST GET" list. Instead, I'll probably buy and fall in love with it later, defending the game when others claim it's "Too difficult so now it sucks." After a while, I'll start to think of it as "my little gaming secret." Kameo reminds of Blast Corps.
     P.S. Can I have an X-Box?
     BaronK
  Terrible. Kameo looks terrible now. Quit from gaming all together, your move to Xbox made you roll down the hill faster.
     Keith Jackson
  Dear Mr. Pants (oh how I have longed to say that),
     Between my dressing up in red underwear and stealing my neighbor's candy for Halloween, and my constant doodling of your image on whatever's in front of me (usually schoolwork, my Spanish teacher has become quite familiar with "Senor Pantalones") some people say I'm a bit obsessed. Well, it's finally paid off.
     As for Kameo: Elements of Power, I can hardly wait. I've been hoping to see some new screenshots for a while, but I continue to stare at the same ones each time I look at the site. This is a great day in the history of Pants. I even made you another RPA to celebrate... well, it's actually another junky movie I pasted together using old RPAs and using some Robin Beanland music for that "get your groove on" feel.
     Dave Roscoe
  Cool! I see you are in good shape and healthy Pantsy! Ok, to the point.
     I think, that Kameo is looking great and it will be technically perfect like all the great Rare games. But will it be as unique a game as were Goldeneye, Blast Corps or Conker's BFD? Some of the later Rare games were great but many aspects were "borrowed" from other games. But since Rare is always making top fun games, there is no doubt that Kameo will be motivating and absorbing as hell, is there?
     Tillchen
  Yes... it looks effing marvelous... but that blue fellow... is that a sidekick??? I HATE SIDEKICKS!!!!! Imagine how annoying one would be in real life!! I haven't got one!! Not that I know of...
     Erling
  Hey Pantsman,
     Kameo looks pretty cool, and I'm wild about the character designs, dahling. But I don't think that promo movie did it much justice. The fakey, fairy-tale-ish announcer put me off and I couldn't understand a blasted word those tigers were chanting. Maybe if you showed a string of cut-scenes as with the Conker promo... on the other hand, Conker is probably the sole game of yours that focuses so much on character development and story. Still, speech I always like. Show a video like that and I might be more impressed.
     Jeffrey Eagle (the Screaming Beagle)
  Mr. Pants. You look like the Homepride sauce man.
     ...
     Kameo then. It's my most anticipated ‘new’ game from Rare for a while. I'm interested to see how the creature control gameplay can sustain an entire adventure and not just serve as a cute gimmick.
     I hope the creatures you can capture and use/turn into are varied and plentiful. Oh and animals that can fly/swim would be nice too!
     Paul Moran
  I really liked Kameo when I saw it for the first time on the Gamecube. The movie you showed for the Xbox was good, but I don't think it will sell well on the Xbox. It's too kiddy for the computer gamers which the Xbox is pointed to. If I were you I would work really hard on a new Conker because I don't think Kameo will go too well.
     Yours truly,
     Frank William Holstein
  A humble greeting to the almighty Pantsman and the spanking-new Pants board:
     From what I've seen of both the Xbox and GameCube versions, Kameo is shaping up pretty well. The game seems to stem on the Ocarina of Time setup like Star Fox Adventures, yet you capture and possess enemies like Pokemon mixed with the obscure PC title Messiah. It looks to be working so far, and I've been a fan of the graphics since day one.
     I am, however, a bit curious as to why certain aesthetic changes were made for the Xbox port - why does Kameo all of a sudden have wings and sex appeal now? Was this a response to some of the sick comments that were written about the heroine in Scribes? Will Kameo incorporate flight a lot more since she has wings, even more so than when she could control the flying characters in the original GCN title?
     Also (going strictly by the new Xbox teaser), the game seems to have some type of fairytale theme (suggested by the music, and 1.5 foot-tall creatures I've never seen in previous builds of the game). I'm guessing these little boogers at the end of the clip will be somewhat of a comic relief to help out the story in some way. Go fig.
     ACE
  After seeing it, to be honest, I thought all of your other games looked better than this, and, after careful consideration, I think that it just doesn't suite you, sorry but I would give it a 2 out of 10 for crappiness.
     bigowen
  Kameo: Elements of Power looks like it will be pure MagiX!
     Please keep the backtracking and item collecting reasonable. The character/creature morph is brilliant and could offer many gameplay options. Hopefully you can change into your personal choice and accomplish certain goals with more than just one character. The music already hums in my head and the black & white vs. color tiger races is a good look for the game. From the promo video there are a few things I would like to see upgraded. More detail and bump-mapping please. As Rare's first Xbox title it needs to simply be breathtaking and have rock solid gameplay.
     We're very eXcited about Kameo and bring it on!
     We know you crazy... now get your backsides back to work. You must take up the challenge and restore the balance of fun gameplay to the gaming world.
     Nicholas
  I caught Mr. Pants running around my screen... HE WAS 3D!!!! Check this out!
     Shawn Rasmussen
  First of all I sold my Cube to buy an Xbox just to play your games so that must be worth some posting space. Next of all for Kameo, could you please include some sort of multiplayer mode, perhaps something similar to Jet Force Gemini's? I find multiplayer greatly extends the life of games, since during the N64 days, Conker and Perfect Dark were the ones most played for me since Banjo-Kazooie had none and Banjo-Tooie's multiplayer modes weren't as entertaining.
     P.S. Conker Sequel Reborn on Xbox please, also you could make it like a rip off of GTA.
     James Cadden
  I read the question and thought it said porno, but it actually said promo.
     That's kinda the extent of my comments...
     Blah
     Stephen Marsh
  I personally like the idea of controlling monsters, but you should do a more realistic type look at the subject and make the buxom fairy chick more human looking.
     ccbp
  Kudos the Kameo team for bringing the game up to speed for the Xbox demo, it's looking great. Although, I must urge them to differentiate the game from the likes of Pokemon and Digimon, as that fad seems to have lost its popularity. Keep the game focused and objective based and you should have a winner on your hands.
     Regards,
     Shae Palandri
     PS: You better keep the tongue-in-cheek humour, it's the single defining factor of Rareware games!
  Yes, yes, we all love Kameo and whatnot. Who wants to hear that dribble when there's a much more pungent debate to be had? Of course I am referring to THE NEW LOOK OF MR. PANTS. Now, my dear friend, I must commend you for spending more than 5 seconds drawing this little chap, but HE IS AN IMPOSTER! You yourself, in an episode of Scribes, that "Mr. Pants must be drawn in a panic, he just isn't suitable any other way. Don't I look great in this parka?" That's exactly what you said, verbatum. I for one believe that Mr. Pants is a "classic" Rare character and thus could never be modified. The public just won't accept it. Want proof? Make your next PantsBoard questions "What do you think of the new Mr. Pants look?" I dare you.
     As for Kameo (since it would be rude of me to leave the original question un-answered), I am excited to see how far Rare can go with the Xbox. Being a Cube Fan I'm not familiar with the "amazing technological advancements" Microsoft has over Nintendo, but surely if there are any, Rare will exploit them. And exploit them to the fullest, har har! Har? Sure... Besides the interesting gameplay, the graphics seem to be phenomenal and everything else will be smashing I'm assured.
     Lots of Love,
     Tony Nelson
     P.S. For completion: have you ever enjoyed watching Eddie Izzard strut about in the wicked black dress on his 1999 Tour? I have.
  Looks like a great game! Unfortunately, I'll never be able to play it unless it's ported to the 'Cube or PS2. Since I've got the others, there's no more $$$ left for the Xbox.
     Barbara Johanssen
  Kameo looks so good it looks... good. The promo movie was great, and from what I heard of the Gamecube version it will be fun as well.
     But the prospect of Banjo 3 is still what's selling me an X-Box.
     Bhlaab
  G'day, long-time fan, first time writer from Australia.
     Ok, I must say congratulations on the move to the big X. More freedom with games and more power to use is not a bad thing at all and soon, with the release of Kameo, everyone will know this. Now to my analysis of the game itself.
     First, Kameo herself is HOT! I mean really hot. Kameo will be the benchmark babe on the box for a long time coming. Those loverly arms, smooth legs and perfectly shaped brea... I'm going to make a mess of myself if I keep this up.
     Next is the graphics. Smooth clean graphics, with all the style and atmosphere you could ask for. The graphics will appeal to everyone, young and old, with amazing beasts of chilling detail and the cute sexy fairies will appeal to your, uh, daughter. Now to the story. The story is huge, yet easy to follow. The story of a sexy fairy princess on a fantastic adventure with the quality of a good movie and the satisfaction of a great book.
     Then the overall package. It's a perfect blend of a beautiful story with amazing visuals and perfect playability. It doesn't concentrate on being "Epic" and fall short on gameplay, like a certain other game *cough* Eternal Darkness *cough*. I mean its Rare's first game on the best hardware around and it's a ripping RPG. We all know it's going to be a killer title for everyone to enjoy.
     Danny "DK" Keaton
  Wow - Conker is in Kameo? That's awesome! That makes it the greatest game ever released for the xbox. Ever. No Contest.
     WHAT DO YOU MEAN JUDGE BY THE PROMO MOVIE??? Have you even SEEN the movie you've got on the site now? I've seen other stuff from this game, but NOBODY can judge SH*TE from that movie!!! In all reality, the game looks like it will kick ass, although the camera logic (hopefully) wasn't quite finished in the early video I saw. Will Kameo make use of the Steel Battalion controller? That would be the most awesome thing ever.
     Steve
 
Okay, okay, so maybe I should have said preview movie, not promo movie - that's a different beast altogether. But thanks for your thoughts, my lovelies! I'll be back in the New Year with another Burning Question scorching a hole in my jeffries. Goodnight, sleep tight, and have a Supertramp Christmas!
Pantsboard Responses - December 2002